Yulia Tymoshenko at the center of the corruption scandal. Investigators published the recording
“NABU and the Special Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAP) revealed that the leader of one of the parliamentary factions of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine offered illegal benefits to many parliamentarians,” NABU said in a statement published on Telegram.
Who is suspected in the corruption case in the Ukrainian parliament?
What actions has NABU taken in this matter?
What did Tymoshenko say about the search of her office?
What materials published by NABU concern this case?
According to investigators, the suspect offered bribes to MPs from other parties in exchange for their votes “for” or “against” certain legislative initiatives.
NABU has not publicly released the name of the suspect. However, Ukrainian media reported that NABU and SAP carried out searches at the headquarters of the Batkivshchyna party, the leader of which is Yulia Tymoshenko.
Oleksiy Honcharenko, an MP from Petro Poroshenko's European Solidarity faction, stated on Telegram that the investigation concerns Yulia Tymoshenko, who gained world fame during the Orange Revolution in 2004-2005, after which she became prime minister.
“It's about Yulia Tymoshenko. She was in talks with several deputies about joining or informally joining the Batkivshchyna party for money. One of the deputies recorded and handed over the materials to NABU,” wrote Honcharenko.
Later, the “Ukrainska Pravda” website, citing its sources from political circles, reported that anti-corruption authorities had officially notified Tymoshenko about the suspicion of committing a crime. So far, law enforcement agencies have not issued any official statement on this matter.
Tymoshenko on the search: it had nothing to do with the law
Tymoshenko herself confirmed that searches were carried out at the Batkivshchyna party headquarters.
“The so-called 'urgent investigative activities' that lasted all night have just ended in the office of the Batkivshchyna party. 'Urgent investigative activities' that have nothing to do with the law and the act. More than thirty armed men, without showing any documents, actually occupied the building and took the employees hostage,” she wrote in a post on Facebook.
“The last time Yanukovych's stormtroopers attacked us like this was during the Revolution of Dignity. But even then, at least they hid their invasion with some documents from the court in Pechersk. There was nothing like that this time,” Tymoshenko added.
Tymoshenko was imprisoned in 2011 by then-President Viktor Yanukovych for negotiating an unfavorable gas deal while serving as prime minister. It was widely considered a politically motivated arrest, and Tymoshenko was released within days of Yanukovych fleeing the country in 2014 during the Revolution of Dignity [tak w Ukrainie nazywane są wydarzenia na Majdanie Niezależności w Kijowie, które rozegrały się późną jesienią 2013 r. i w zimie przełomu 2013/2014 r. i doprowadziły do ucieczki Janukowycza oraz przeprowadzenia przedterminowych wyborów prezydenckich — red.].
The MP described the search as a “big PR campaign”. She said nothing was found during the operation, but law enforcement officers confiscated her work phones, parliamentary documents and personal savings – “all of which is fully reflected in the official statement.”
“I categorically reject all these absurd allegations. It seems that the elections are much closer than it seemed, and someone decided to start eliminating competitors,” Tymoshenko added.
A large NABU and SAP operation. Corruption scandal in the Verkhovna Rada
At the end of December 2025, NABU and SAP, as part of a special secret operation, revealed a group of parliamentarians suspected of selling votes in the Verkhovna Rada.
According to sources quoted by RBC-Ukraine, the suspects include parliamentarians Yevhen Pyvovarov, Ihor Nehulewski, Olha Savchenko, Yuri Kysil and Mykhailo Laba.
On January 1, the Supreme Anti-Corruption Court imposed preventive measures on the suspects in the form of bail.
Two MPs were released on bail in the amount of UAH 40 million (approx. PLN 3,370,000) and UAH 30 million (approx. PLN 2,527,000), two others were granted bail in the amount of UAH 20 million (approx. PLN 1,685,000), and the fifth suspect was released on bail in the amount of UAH 16.6 million (approx. PLN 1 million). PLN 398 thousand).
NABU publishes recordings
NABU later confirmed that it had sent a notification of a suspected crime to the chairman of the parliamentary group in the Verkhovna Rada, without giving the name of the person, and had made public the recordings obtained through wiretapping.
“NABU and SAP submitted a notification of suspicion of committing a crime to the chairman of one of the parliamentary factions of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine in connection with offering illegal benefits to Ukrainian deputies,” the office said in a statement.
The statement said that after anti-corruption authorities revealed similar cases of parliamentarians receiving illegal benefits in exchange for voting in parliament in December 2025, the suspect allegedly decided to create her own system.
According to NABU, it was negotiating with individual MPs to establish a “systematic mechanism for providing illegal benefits in exchange for loyal voting behavior.”
Investigators say the scheme was not based on one-off contracts, but on a regular cooperation mechanism that provided for monthly advances and was intended to operate over a long period of time.
“It was assumed that MPs would receive instructions on how to vote and, in some cases, on abstaining from voting or not participating in the vote at all,” investigators say.
NABU also published recordings of overheard conversations in which the suspect can be heard negotiating with the parliamentarian, determining the course of action.
According to the published recordings, three MPs were allegedly offered 10,000. dollars per month in exchange for the required votes. Materials suggest that MPs voted to dismiss ministers as instructed, while some new appointments were deliberately blocked by refusing to vote.
At the end of the video published by NABU, the suspect is shown with her face blurred, although Yulia Tymoshenko can be recognized.
A still from the recording published by NABUNABU/YouTube
Tymoshenko appeared in the Verkhovna Rada. He complains about the way the search was conducted
Despite being notified of the suspicion of committing a crime, Tymoshenko delivered a speech in parliament on the same day.
According to the parliamentarian, the search of her office began at 9:30 p.m. on January 13, when she was alone in the room.
— There was no protection or bystanders. At At 9:30 p.m. a lot of people in full gear and armed broke in. They arrived in five buses. What did over 30 people, arriving in five buses, want to confiscate from a defenseless person sitting alone in his office? – she said.
Tymoshenko stated that she was informed about the search, but no documents authorizing it were presented.
— The head of the group said: “There are no documents and they are not needed, because these are special investigative activities that do not require anything.” He only showed an extract from the Unified Register on his phone, the MP added.
She also said she asked to speak to a lawyer, but was allegedly told: “No lawyer. We will conduct the search immediately.”
– All people who were in the office – regular employees – were blocked without exception. Their phones and everything they had were taken away without any explanation. Then this huge number of men started turning the office upside down. They swept all the papers off the tables and threw them into bags, Tymoshenko said.
